The Geo News network reported today that independent candidates supported by former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan have secured 47 seats out of a total of 106 for which special votes have been counted so far in the national elections, with the counting process ongoing.
The elections were held yesterday to compete for 265 out of 266 seats in the National Assembly, with any political party needing 133 seats to secure a slim majority.
The Pakistani Islamic political party, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), led by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who has won at least 17 seats so far, may form a coalition government with independent candidates, according to Geo News citing Shahbaz Sharif’s deputy Ishrat Dar on Friday.
Ishrat Dar said, “We are confident we will form the government,” adding that his party will concede if any other party clearly wins.
The Election Commission earlier stated that the Pakistan Peoples Party, led by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, son of the assassinated former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, secured 12 seats. The remaining seats were won by smaller parties or independents.
Khan is currently imprisoned, and his party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, was barred from participating in the elections held on Thursday, so his supporters contested independently.
Analysts expect there to be no clear winner in the elections, further complicating the state’s recovery from an economic crisis while facing increased violence from militants, in a highly polarized political environment.
The main battle was expected to be between candidates supported by Khan, whose party won in the previous national elections, and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz. Khan believes a strong army stands behind a campaign to suppress his party, while analysts and opponents say Sharif enjoys the support of army generals.
The army has directly or indirectly dominated the nuclear-armed state for 76 years since its independence, but it has claimed for several years that it does not interfere in politics.
